MUA MakeUp Academy Matte Lipstick Fawn Fancy, NYC Color Instinct Eyeshadow Palette 969 Rooftop Cocktails

Hi there! Today’s post is about a lipstick and a small eyeshadow palette. And I’m starting with this MUA MakeUp Academy Matte Lipstick in the shade Fawn Fancy which was £1.

This lipstick is awful. The shade is nice, but the lipstick is waxy, strangely dry and impossible to apply. It broke off the first time I used it. Not a surprise – I tried a few lipsticks from this line before, and I remember that this happened with at least 2 of them. I don’t think I’ll ever buy a matte lipstick from MUA again. Having said this, their creamy lipsticks (which are also £1 only) are lovely!

Onto this NYC Color Instinct Eyeshadow Palette 969 Rooftop Cocktails which was 99p at Fragrance Direct.

This is a small eye palette that contains 4 eyeshadows – a dusty lavender, a light blue, a light green, and a pale champagne highlighter shade.

I bought this palette a while ago, but I never used it until I gave it a try a few weeks ago. The dusty lavender shade is nice, but it’s poorly pigmented. And I didn’t care for the other 3 shades.

Since I have no use for this palette, it’ll be the latest victim of my 6 months early spring declutter.

Have you tried these products? Which products did you get rid of recently? Feel free to get in touch, and thanks for reading! 😊

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA Luxe Utopia 10 Shade Eye Palette

Hi there! Today’s post is about MUA‘s Luxe Utopia 10 Shade Eyeshadow Palette. This limited edition palette is available for £8 through MUA’s own web store (where it’s out of stock at the moment), but you can also buy it through a number of online stores.

The Utopia palette features “10 luxuriously smooth and silky eyeshadows in soft golds, nudes and browns”. I think this palette looks super pretty! Well done, MUA!

Onto the swatches! I think these eyeshadows swatched very well. But it’s not surprising because they wear well too. 🙂 I haven’t had any issues with these eyeshadows. I think they’re super silky, they burst with pigment, they’re easy to blend, and they look awesome!

I’m not the biggest fan of the 2 lightest shades (1 and 9), but that’s not MUA’s fault. I do love the other 8 shades, and I’ve been enjoying them very much for a few weeks now!

Have you tried this palette? Or would you like to try it? Have you (re)discovered any beauty products lately? Feel free to get in touch. And thanks for reading!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Matte Lipstick Wild Berry

Hi there!Today I’ve got another lipstick to review. It’s MUA MakeUp Academy Matte Lipstick Wild Berry. I’ve previously reviewed a matte lipstick from MUA – and I wasn’t impressed. And unfortunately today’s review isn’t a positive one either. Now let me tell you why I’ve already binned this lipstick.

First of all, I don’t like how the lipstick applies and how it feels on my lips. The formula is thick and waxy, the colour doesn’t transfer well onto the lips, and the lipstick feels drying and sticky at the same time.

I also don’t love the colour. It looks like a dark berry colour in the bullet. But it’s a fuchsia / plum shade on the lips. The colour pay-off isn’t that great either. I’ve got a white spot on my bottom lip (it’s just a lack of pigment). Most lipsticks cover this small area easily, so it was quite a disappointment that this lipstick didn’t.

All in all, I think this isn’t a good lipstick. I know the reviews about it are mixed – lots of people seem to love MUA’s matte lippies (I really don’t get it), but just as many don’t. I compare every matte lipstick to UNE’s brilliant matte lipsticks (they feel like velvet, but they’re matte). And based on that comparison I’d be flattering MUA’s Wild Berry lipstick if I were to say it’s ‘below average’…

MUA MakeUp Academy Matte Lipstick in Wild Berry is available for £1 (Superdrug, MUA online store).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Matte Lipstick Lilac Belle

Hi there! Today’s post is about this MUA Lilac Belle Matte Lipstick. I’ve always hated frosty, shimmery and pearly finishes in lipsticks, so I’m easily tempted by anything matte. 🙂 So let’s have a look at this lippie.

Lilac Belle is a pinkish lilac shade. I’m not a fan of this particular colour because it makes my teeth look yellow (which they’re not). I think this is a lipstick colour only girls with pearly white gnashers can wear.

In terms of quality, I’m not happy with MUA’s matte lipsticks. They’re very waxy which makes it hard to apply them and they’re very drying. And I’m sure I’m not the only one whose matte MUA lippie broke on first use.

The MUA Lilac Belle Matte Lipstick is clearly not for me and I won’t buy it again. It was £1 only, so it wasn’t much of a loss. If you’d like to try this lippie, check Superdrug’s web site or MUA’s online store.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Blusher Bon Bon, Candyfloss, Cupcake

Hi there! I’ve been using the same blushers for the past six months, so I thought it’s about time to try out new ones. As I love a bargain, I went with MUA. I picked the following blushers (from top to bottom): Bon Bon, Candyfloss and Cupcake.

Bon Bon is a matte dark coral that goes with anything. I think this shade would suit most skin tones and – depending on how much product you apply – most occasions.

Candyfloss is a shimmery cool pink. The shimmer is quite subtle. However, I don’t like this shade as much as I thought I would because it’s too pink for my taste.

Cupcake is a matte light brown. I like this shade because it reminds me of Bambi. 🙂 I also think this shade is subtle enough to go with heavy eye make-up.

My favourite of the three is Bon Bon, followed by Cupcake and then Candyfloss. I’m very happy with the quality of these powder blushes because they last really well on my make-up and I rarely have to touch up during the day. Priced at £1 each these MUA Blushers are great value.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Eyeshadow Palette Starry Night

Hi there! The past few days were quite nice and sunny, but autumn is on the way. Now that it’s getting colder and the days are shorter, I thought it’s time for a new eye palette featuring cooler shades. So here it is: The MUA MakeUp Academy Starry Night eyeshadow palette.

The Starry Night palette contains 12 shimmery eyeshadows (7 of them are either blue or grey) and they all have names:
Top: Pyxis, Apus, Aquila, Equuleus, Cetus, Orion
Bottom: Lupus, Monoceros, Sagitta, Hydra, Vela, Pavo

My favourite shades are Aquila, Cetus, Orion and Hydra – shades 3, 5, 6 and 10 in the swatch below. However, I’m sure that I won’t be using Monocerus (I never use white shimmers) and I can’t warm up to the pinkish shades (1, 2, 12). But I’m not complaining because I paid £1 (!) for this palette only.

The quality of the eyeshadows is very good. The colour payoff is absolutely amazing and I haven’t had problems with fallout.

So if you like the shades, I would definitely recommend the MUA Starry Night palette. It’s available at Superdrug, or you can buy it from MUA’s online store for £4.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Eye Shadow 13 Pearl, 23 Pearl, 14 Pearl, 18 Matt

Hi there! Today’s post is about a couple of single eyeshadows I treated myself to during MUA’s last winter sale. Just like MUA’s basic blushers, these eyeshadows were 50p each! So what have we got… from left to right: Shade 13 Pearl, Shade 23 Pearl, Shade 14 Pearl and Shade 18 Matt.

Shade 13 Pearl is a deep purple with a chrome-like shimmer. The same shade is also featured in I Heart MakeUp’s Passion palette. Shade 23 Pearl is a vivid and sparkly light blue. I don’t think this shade will look good on me, but I’ll give it a try.

Up next is Shade 14 Pearl, a dark grey with plenty of green shimmer which makes me think of a forest at night time. 🙂 And then there’s Shade 18 Matt, a fresh and bright lilac with great colour payoff.

The eyeshadows are of good quality. Well, they’re MUA, of course they’re good. Now all I have to do is use them every once in a while. 🙂

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Blusher Shade 1, Shade 2

Hi there! I know quite a few bloggers went nuts during MUA’s winter sale, and I was one of them. I snapped up lip and nail products, eyeshadows and two blushers. These little beauties are simply called MUA MakeUp Academy Blusher Shade 1 and Shade 2. I’m sorry the swatches came out a little pale in the photo, but I believe they still show the vibrancy of Shade 1 and the classic beauty of Shade 2.

Shade 1 (top) is a bright coral with a hint of shimmer. But fear not, the shimmer is invisible on the cheeks. I think it’s a pretty shade for spring and summer and I really enjoyed wearing it for the past few days. Shade 2 (bottom) is a soft matte vintage pink which, I think, is perfect for all seasons. It’s a classic shade that will always look good.

In terms of quality I couldn’t be happier with these blushers. They last and look pretty all day long. When I bought these blushers they were 50% off, but even at full price – which is £1 each – they’re still an incredible bargain. Well done, MUA!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

MUA MakeUp Academy Eyeshadow Palette Spring Break

Hi there! Spring has finally arrived and I teated myself to the new MUA Spring Break eyeshadow palette. (Scroll down for swatches.) It contains the following 12 shades:

Top: Refine, Cherub, Amber, Spearmint, Posy, Sorrel
Bottom: Aurora, Bronze Blush, Catacomb, Sea Foam, Gold Khaki, Damson

Most of the shades in this palette are neutrals, so I wouldn’t call the palette spectacular. However, it’s great to create wearable everyday looks with a dash of colour.

My favourite shades are Refine, Posy, Sorrel and Catacomb (shades 1, 5, 6 and 9 in the swatch below). They’re fairly standard neutral shades, but sometimes I just want a natural look and these are perfect for this.

The eyeshadows are soft, buttery and easy to blend, and they stay in place for several hours. I’m happy with the palette and would recommend it.

You can buy the MUA Spring Break eyeshadow palette at Superdrug and MUA’s online store. Priced at £4 it’s excellent value.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde